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London After Midnight
LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT (MGM,1927) starring Lon Chaney, is considered a Lost Film. It is still on the top of the AFI and other world wide film organizations "Most Wanted" lists as it was when the first edition of this book was published in 1985. This edition is 254 pages and the original printing was 178 pages. Chaney added 3 new faces to his "Thousand Faces" - Inspector Burke of Scotland Yard, Professor Burke of India, and America's first film vampire, The Man in the Beaver Hat. In fact it was directed by Tod Browning, who directed "Dracula" 4 years later, which was also to star Chaney as the Count, but his premature death in 1930 prevented it. This new edition also contains a foreword by Forrest J Ackerman and an introduction by the film's Art Director A.Arnold (Buddy) Gillespie; short interviews with David S. Horsley, ASC and by Carroll Borland, who played Luna, the vampire girl in the 1935 remake entitled. "Mark of the Vampire. Also the script is presented in it's original form. Many new photographs of vintage posters from around the world and a reformatted reconstruction of the film by the use of photographs, art work and Silent Film Titles. Included is the complete 1928 Photoplay novel by Marie Coolidge-Rask, long out of print and usually around $500 when you can find a copy. Reproduced on the back cover is the fantastic portrait of Chaney as the vampire by Special Effects and Academy Award winning makeup artist - Rick Baker, Monster Maker.
- GenresMedia Tie In
256 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1985
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January 13, 2017
Without question, London After Midnight is the most famous and most sought-after of all Lon Chaney’s lost silent classics. A combination horror/mystery thriller, the film was directed by Tod Browning (who later directed Bela Lugosi in Dracula and Mark of the Vampire) and also featured the debut of the screen interpretation of a vampire in American Cinema. Credited as “the Man in the Beaver Hat”, the image of Chaney lurching around a dilapidated house, with a top hat, dark clothes, wide staring eyes, a mouthful of sharp teeth, and a cloak that spread into bat-like wings, must’ve been a sight to behold to movie audiences of the time. One wonders how he would have approached the role of Dracula, which he would have played had he not died in 1930. Phillip J. Riley has done another superb job compiling stills, scripts, and background information to give the reader not just the full experience, but the full theatrical experience.
When the patriarch of the Balfour estate, Roger Balfour (Claude King) is found dead and his death ruled a suicide, Inspector Burke (Lon Chaney) of Scotland Yard suspects foul play, and goes to elaborate lengths to solve the crime. The list of shady characters includes two mysterious, supposedly supernatural beings currently inhabiting the old house and scaring all who cross their path…
Although Chaney is always a thrill to watch, especially under such extreme makeup, the script and reconstruction give an overall impression that the plot builds nicely to a conclusion that will feel like a cheat, especially to modern Horror fans. Anyone who’s seen the sound remake Mark of the Vampire has a pretty good idea of where the story is headed; it’s pretty much the same here. However, like its remake, there’s something about seeing the vampires on the screen (or in this case on the page) that makes the movie’s other flaws seem almost forgivable. Lugosi carried his version purely on his screen presence; no doubt the same was true for his predecessor. Chaney’s “Man in the Beaver Hat” is frightening and iconic, regardless of the context.
Along with the script and reconstruction and the behind-the-scenes details, the book also includes a novelization of the film by Marie Coolidge-Rask, first published in 1928 and based on the screenplay. The novel provides yet another perspective for approaching London After Midnight, which also includes a retelling in still-slideshow mode which featured on TCM several years ago. The yearning to see the movie, in any form, clearly has not diminished with its age.
One of the best of Phillip J. Riley’s efforts to provide collectors with the next best thing to lost movies, the London After Midnight reconstruction is a worthy substitute to its missing cinematic counterpart. Despite the shortcomings of the plot, the visualization of Chaney as the vampire is more than enough to etch into our memories forever; one of the most striking guises of the Man of a Thousand Faces.
When the patriarch of the Balfour estate, Roger Balfour (Claude King) is found dead and his death ruled a suicide, Inspector Burke (Lon Chaney) of Scotland Yard suspects foul play, and goes to elaborate lengths to solve the crime. The list of shady characters includes two mysterious, supposedly supernatural beings currently inhabiting the old house and scaring all who cross their path…
Although Chaney is always a thrill to watch, especially under such extreme makeup, the script and reconstruction give an overall impression that the plot builds nicely to a conclusion that will feel like a cheat, especially to modern Horror fans. Anyone who’s seen the sound remake Mark of the Vampire has a pretty good idea of where the story is headed; it’s pretty much the same here. However, like its remake, there’s something about seeing the vampires on the screen (or in this case on the page) that makes the movie’s other flaws seem almost forgivable. Lugosi carried his version purely on his screen presence; no doubt the same was true for his predecessor. Chaney’s “Man in the Beaver Hat” is frightening and iconic, regardless of the context.
Along with the script and reconstruction and the behind-the-scenes details, the book also includes a novelization of the film by Marie Coolidge-Rask, first published in 1928 and based on the screenplay. The novel provides yet another perspective for approaching London After Midnight, which also includes a retelling in still-slideshow mode which featured on TCM several years ago. The yearning to see the movie, in any form, clearly has not diminished with its age.
One of the best of Phillip J. Riley’s efforts to provide collectors with the next best thing to lost movies, the London After Midnight reconstruction is a worthy substitute to its missing cinematic counterpart. Despite the shortcomings of the plot, the visualization of Chaney as the vampire is more than enough to etch into our memories forever; one of the most striking guises of the Man of a Thousand Faces.
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